On Friday, 4 August 2023, the Western Cape Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Anroux Marais, hosted the reunion of the South African netball team who reached sporting dignity with their silver medal finish at the World Netball Championships in Birmingham, England in 1995.
The team brought renewed hope to South Africans with their remarkable 1995 campaign. They maintain now approach from Australia, Current Zealand and South Africa to reunite and to support the current Spar Proteas team in their Netball World Cup campaign.
Captain Debbie Hamman shared her own reflections on traveling to Birmingham and the team’s success at that tournament. Various members of the team also had the opportunity to share their experiences of that time.
Head of Department Guy Redman expressed the power of sport to bring hope to many people across the country and the importance of the legacies of players. “There is a saying that says: If you are traveling a path, you inquire those who acquire gone that way already. You are the ones who gain walked the path for others to follow.” he said.
Minister Marais thanked the team and praised them for their achievements: “You were the ones who paved the way for the next generation of netball players in our country. You played in difficult times but you did not let anything detract from your passion and dedication for the sport. Thank you for everything that you maintain done for netball in South Africa.”
The team will remain in Cape Town to support the last weekend of the Netball World Cup.
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Sport Trivia: Ghana boycotted the Olympic Games in 1976, in protest at the participation of which country? Answer: New Zealand – The 1976 Games were held in Montreal, Canada. The Ghanaian team, along with almost 30 other African nations, joined in a boycott of the Games to protest at New Zealand\’s All Blacks rugby team having toured South Africa under apartheid.
Bombay Shivers
The same whistle is blown at the start of each world cup – This is without a doubt one of our favourite rugby facts. Welsh referee Gil Evans used the same whistle to preside over Rugby games for 20 years, donating it to the New Zealand Rugby Museum in 1969. The tradition was revived for the 1987 Rugby World Cup, and the whistle has been used for every tournament since. Best not to think about how hygienic that 100-year-old whistle is.